am surprised at it myself; and I perceive
that if great sorrows are sometimes dumb, they are sometimes eloquent.
Be this as it may, grant me the favour I implore: it will cost you
little. Put me at once into the street, or at least near the great
church; for I shall know my way thence to the house of my parents. But
you must also swear not to follow me, or make any attempts to ascertain
my name or that of my family, who if they were as wealthy as they are
noble, would not have to bear patiently such insult in my person. Answer
me, and if you are afraid of being known by your voice, know, that
except my father and my confessor, I have never spoken with any man in
my life, and that I should never be able to tell who you were, though
you were to speak ever so long."

The only reply Rodolfo made to the unhappy Leocadia was to embrace her,
and attempt a repetition of his offence; but she defended herself with
hands, feet, and teeth, and with a strength he could not have supposed
her capable of exerting. "Base villain," she cried, "you took an
infamous advantage of me when I had no more power to resist than a stock
or a stone; but now that I have recovered my senses, you shall kill me
before you shall succeed. You shall not have reason to imagine, from my
weak resistance, that I pretended only to faint when you effected my
ruin." In fine, she defended herself with such spirit and vigour as
completely damped Rodolfo's ardour. Without saying a word he left the
room, locked the door behind him, and went in quest of his companions,
to consult them as to what he should do.

Finding herself left alone, Leocadia got out of bed, and groped about
the room, and along the walls, feeling for a door or window through
which she might make her escape. She found the door, but it was locked
outside. She succeeded in opening the window; and the moonlight shone in
so brightly, that she could distinguish the colour of some damask
hangings in the room. She saw that the bed was gilded, and so rich, that
it seemed that of a prince rather than of a private gentleman. She
counted the chairs and the cabinets, observed the position of the door,
and also perceived some pictures hanging on the walls, but was not able
to distinguish the subjects. The window was large, and protected by a
stout iron grating: it looked out on a garden, surrounded by high walls,
so that escape in that direction was as impossible as by the door.

Everything she observed in t